In an economic downturn like the one we've been in, people postulate how Nissan could, and did, drop two new sports cars. Some might say it was important for distinguishing the brand amongst a sea of soulless OEs, others, that it was a part of a larger global plan, while most will fault it to poor timing. I have my own theory. Nissan doesn't give a flying fart. They make fast cars, 'cause, well, they're cool, and they've become quite adept at building them.
The oil crisis of the '70s, when prices for crude quadrupled, effectively nuked the sports car market. Fuel-gulping Detroit steel atrophied in favor of more efficient means of transportation, giving rise to the dominance of Japanese manufacturers as we know it. Nissan was at the forefront, introducing paradigm-shifting cars like the Z and GT-R, cementing the Land of the Rising Sun as a global contender. And while it would be easy to assume Nissan made the transition overnight, one need not venture further than the Nissan Heritage Car Collection to see that theirs is a lengthy and storied past.
Established in 1965, Nissan's Zama Operations Center in Kanagawa, Japan, is a massive complex of industrial buildings that once served as their assembly plant. The Zama assembly line built early pickup trucks and introduced the Sunny, and in its glory days during the '90s, was the first Nissan production facility to hit the 10-million-unit mark. Now, serving as its Global Production Engineering Center, it is a vast sea of nondescript warehouses and roll-up doors . . . except for one. Painted in red and adorned with white Chinese Kanji characters and English font, lies a gate that simply reads: Nissan DNA Garage Since 1933. Inside this red portal houses a collection of Nissans spanning back to its early years, ranging from stock and obscure to downright famous and iconic.
A cross between an automotive museum, Barrett Car Show, Antiques Roadshow, and history lesson, my experience inside the Nissan Heritage Car Collection was both profound and spiritual . . . in the most exclusive way. The thing with Zama (as it's often referred to) is that it's not open to the public. While the cars are all pristinely showroom maintained (and supposedly all in running condition), it's not as simple as paying an admission fee and waiting in line to get in. You need access. And thanks to some gracious friends in Nissan North America, that's exactly what we got-a half day in Zama all to ourselves, where I could've easily spent a week. Rows upon rows, each Nissan had its own tale which ultimately qualified it for Zama status and in learning so, the glorious story unravels of how a small venture to build cars worthy of being exported abroad survived a World War, entered and reigned in motorsports, and built a brand that has the gall to drop two sports cars-when other OEs have pulled out-in an economy not seen since the Great Depression.
While volumes can, and should, be written on all of the cars, until then, here's a small cross section of some of the more notable Nissans:
Datsun: Son Of Dat?
Founded in 1911, Kwaishinsha Jidosha Kojo was Masujiro Hashimoto's-an American-trained engineer-commercial vision of manufacturing cars for Japan that would also appeal to export markets. In 1914, Hashimoto-san's dream came to fruition when work was completed on the DAT motor vehicle. Several mergers and military vehicles later, production began on commercial vehicles that represented the core of Hashimoto's ideals, and the "son of DAT" was born. But because "son" was the Japanese word for "loss" or "ruin", the decision was made to swap vowels and go with the brighter "sun", hence Datsun. What about DAT? Where dat come from? Corny puns aside, DAT was the initials of the surnames of Hashimoto-san's three original business partners who helped fund his automotive dream: Den, Aoyama, and Takeuchi. Nissan, on the other hand, is the portmanteau of Yoshisuke Aikawa's holding company's name, Nippon Sangyo.